Two solid members from Netflix’s hit relationship present “Love on the Spectrum” condemned Health and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s disrespectful feedback about individuals with autism earlier this month.
The truth present explores the private lives of a number of people with autism as they attempt to discover a life-long companion. It gained two Primetime Emmys in 2024, for Excellent Casting for a Actuality Program and Excellent Directing for a Actuality Program.
“Autistic people have the same hopes, dreams, and yes, the same awkward dating moments as anyone else,” star Dani Bowman advised NewsNation. She continued by saying “to generalize and say none of us can work, date or contribute to society, is completely false.”
Kennedy, who has been recognized to unfold conspiracy theories about vaccines being linked to autism, has confronted backlash since earlier this month after labeling autism spectrum dysfunction as a “preventable disease.” He mentioned his division will discover the reason for what he referred to as an “epidemic” by September.
AP Picture/J. Scott Applewhite
“These are kids who will never pay taxes. They’ll never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted,” Kennedy mentioned.
Whereas Kennedy later mentioned he was solely referring to the roughly 25% of individuals with autism who do have extreme limitations, many advocates and people took his remarks as an offensive blanket assertion.
The well being secretary’s plans reportedly embrace gathering non-public medical information and making a registry to trace individuals identified with autism.
James B. Jones, who garnered a large fanbase after being featured on “Love on the Spectrum,” advised People who Kennedy’s remarks “were made from a position of extreme ignorance” and “one should not apply a blanket approach or make generalized presumptions about people who have autism.”
“I have a permanent 40-hour per week job with benefits, which I have held steadily since 2017 and am in no danger of losing. I can operate a vehicle with no issues. I pay all of my own expenses,” Jones mentioned.
Jones posted a video earlier this week in response to Kennedy’s remarks, opening up about his expertise rising up at a time when society “did not have a very thorough understanding of autism or similar forms of neurodiversity.”
“Society has made great progress in the past 20 to 30 years, so we certainly do not wish to lose that progress,” Jones mentioned. “We do not wish to step backwards. We wish to keep moving forward to the future, rather than looking back to the past.”
Regardless of Kennedy’s declare that individuals with autism will “never write a poem” or “go on a date,” Jones is relationship his girlfriend Shelley Wolfe and wrote a music titled “Heavy Metal Queen.” Wolfe is featured within the music video.
“I have a huge relationship with a woman whom I love very much, who loves me very much, and everything’s going great for me in my life right now,” James advised Folks.
Bowman expressed her issues to NewsNation about Kennedy’s pledge to determine the reason for autism by September.
“Wanting to cure autism implies that our way of being is wrong, and it isn’t,” Bowman mentioned. “We don’t need to be fixed. We need to be supported. But the answer isn’t erasing autism, it’s building a more inclusive world for all of us.”
